Marilyn - So voluptuous, yet so vulnerable........

An enduring icon for the ages.  Yet the one thing that strikes me about her is her complete vulnerability.  I can't even imagine living a life in which everyone wants a piece of you.  Her marriage to Joe DiMaggio supposedly ended because he couldn't handle all the attention she attracted.

She appeared to have it all, yet it seemed that true happiness eluded her.  I guess fame, money and admiration have a very dark side.  In her later years, you could really see the toll it had taken.  In some photos, especially the later ones, you can really sense her vulnerability and even a little helplessness in her eyes.

Only early photos of Marilyn show what she must have really been like.  Sadly, at a certain point in her career, she must have had to perpetually fulfill the persona that had been created (partly by her, I'm sure....) in print and on screen. She became almost a caricature of herself.  No wonder she resorted to drugs and alcohol  - and yet we wonder why her flame extinguished so quickly.........